Students who wilfully damage school property shall pay twice the cost of items destroyed, the Ghana Education Service (GES) harmonised Code of Conduct for Students in pre-tertiary schools has said.
In addition, students shall face disciplinary committee, undergo counselling and sign a bond, with parents as witnesses.
On incitement to riot, rioting and demonstration, the guidelines for sanctions are reporting to the police, instituting disciplinary proceedings and dismissal.
The GES Council approved the code of conduct to serve as a guide and reference material to promote and maintain discipline at the pre-tertiary education level.
Following the development, the GES said the code had been sent to all metropolitan, municipal, district directors of education, as well as managers of education units and heads of schools, for immediate implementation.
“It is the expectation of management that the strict adherence to the code of conduct will support the schools to achieve their primary tasks of providing inclusive, quality and relevant education to all Ghanaian children,” a circular to all regional directors signed by a Deputy Director General, Stephen Kwaku Owusu, and dated January 4, 2024, said.
Before the new regime of the harmonised code of conduct, each school had its own code for the relevant students.
Issues
The code of conduct addresses issues that include conduct, misconduct, general behaviour, flouting lawful authority, absence from school, loitering, academic work, examinations and examination malpractices, breaking of bounds, punctuality, improper dressing and unprescribed items.
Others are wilful damage to school property, sexual offences, physical and psychological violence, causing harm, religious practice, incitement to riot, rioting and demonstration, gambling, possession/circulation of pornographic material, weapons and other offences.
On general behaviour, the code said students should demonstrate courtesy and respect towards everyone, and that they must respect the elders of society as Ghanaian custom demanded.
It said students should perform all their responsibilities in school, including personal hygiene and cleanliness of the surroundings, and maintain diligence at all times.
The code of conduct said flouting lawful authority and directives of the head, staff and prefects shall constitute misconduct.
Depending on the gravity of the offences, the guidelines for sanctions comprise caution and counselling, manual work, demotion for prefects, two weeks’ internal suspension, external suspension not more than two weeks for persistence, signing of bond with parents as witnesses, withdrawal from the boarding house and dismissal for persistence.
On absence from school, it said reporting late to school on reopening or from approved breaks without reasonable excuse was an act of misconduct.
“Failure to be present at any academic activity without reasonable cause is a misconduct.
“Any excuse to be absent from school without formal communication by parent/guardian to the school constitutes a misconduct,” it said.
The code of conduct said attendance at all school gatherings was compulsory for all students, and that good conduct should be observed at such gatherings.
The guidelines for the sanctions, it said, included caution and counselling, signing bonds, with parents as witnesses, and manual work.
It said students should not absent themselves from school without reasonable excuse, and that the guidelines for sanctions were the same as those for flouting lawful authority.
On refusal to write examinations and involvement in examination malpractice, the guidelines for sanctions are cancellation of examination paper, repetition and manual work.
With regard to breaking of bounds, the guidelines for sanctions are the same as those for flouting lawful authority.
The guidelines for improper dressing are caution and counselling, manual work, demotion for prefects, two weeks’ internal suspension, shaving of beard or sideburns under supervision of a housemaster.
GNAT
Responding to the development, the General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Thomas Musah, said although the code of conduct was discussed with the unions, he did not see the final copy only for it to surface on social media.
He said what they discussed was to regulate the behaviour of students on campus, given the current challenges on the various school campuses, adding that there was the need for the coded kind of rules of engagement, particularly for students.
With each school having its own code previously, he said it created some challenges with regard to its application.
“You know that we have faith-based institutions and there are those that are not faith-based.
So in order to harmonise all the rules of engagement, it became necessary that we have this code of conduct,” he said.
Mr Musah, however, expressed the belief that the code of conduct would go a long way to sanitise the school environment.
He said the new document would prevent individual discretions in taking decisions on students as there was now a coded document to be used as a reference point applicable to all.
